Signs
by lm25pc
Summary: Follow up to postcards from the antihoneymoon. A year in the life of merder set early season 4.. have to add now that it is AU unfortunately as it's pretty Merder fluffy
1. And so it begins

**AN – So this is the follow on to "Postcards from the Anti-Honeymoon", you don't have had to read it to understand this… but I'd like it if you did. This takes us through the realisation of the "signs" from that story. Essentially everything is as season 4 ended, except merder have reconciled**

**Hope you enjoy**

* * *

"Ugggh" a sleep dishevelled Alex grunted as he shuffled into the kitchen 

"I know" Izzie replied as she continued mixing the sticky batter with a spoon.

Alex stood, one hand scratching at his t-shirt covered chest, yawning watching the spoon move around the bowl in a daze. He was distracted by the clatter of the spoon against the bowl as Izzie moved back to her recipe. "Why are you baking at 3am?" he asked.

"Why are you standing in the kitchen in a daze at 3am?" Izzie retorted

Both sets of eyes raised to the ceiling as a muffled rhythmic banging started up.

"Because of that" Alex replied

"Well, that's why I'm baking" Izzie offered, adding more ingredients to her bowl.

"No, that's why you're awake, no one can sleep through that" a scream punctated the air, as if to prove a point. "but, why are you baking, you bake when you're sad? Or so the screaming one tells me"

"Well I figure doing something is less depressing than laying in my bed, listening to them go on and on and on while I grow cobwebs between my legs" Izzie spat back.

The screams above continued to build in frequency as the banging returned, both noises synching together as they built to a crescendo and finally stopped.

"That's round three over" Izzie said as she recommenced stiring.

"They weren't like this before" Alex said, "I mean they were occasionally loud, but nothing like this"

"Yeah they were, before, you know" Izzie said

"Before what?" Alex asked

"Before Addison"

"Oh. Well that's a good thing right?"

"For them, yeah I guess it's a great thing" a loud giggle punctated the air, Izzie sighed "For us, not so much."

A new noise rented the night air. "What was that?" Alex asked "Are the moving furniture now?"

Any reply Izzie was going to offer was cut short as the kitchen door swung open, revealing a tussled haired, petite woman.

"Dr Grey" Izzie greeted with a wry tone

"Oh, umm, Hi Dr Stevens" offered the girl as she stood just inside the door tentatively "You're cooking?" she asked.

"Baking, can't sleep with that going on" said Izzy pointing at the roof.

The girl blushed "Oh, yeah, it's, umm, loud, isn't it?"

"That it is" Izzie replied turning back to Alex and grinning at him with her eyebrows raised quizzically. "Does it run in the genes?" she asked.

Lexie looked at her blankly, then looked to Alex, her eyes widening in horror as realisation dawned. "Oh My God, is, that, is that, Meredith?"

Alex chuckled and nodded in reply. Lexie reached out and smacked him the chest "You didn't mention you lived with my sister" she hissed.

Izzie laughed, this was good entertainment and a good distraction from the continuing noises upstairs.

Alex shrugged at Lexie "It didn't come up, you too seem to be ok with each other at the hospital I didn't realise it was a problem"

"We are, it's not a problem, It's just, oh, now I've heard my half-sister have screaming orgasms all night, it will make the getting to know you process even harder than it already is. I mean how do I look at her with a straight face tomorrow, I mean, now that I've heard that. I mean don't you find it embarrassing at all?"

Alex and Izzie stared at Lexie while she rambled on. As much as they were very different people there were clearly some traits both sisters had inherited from their father.

"Not really" Izzie answered "She likes sex, apparently from what we hear she's good at it, and she's a good friend. So do I feel awkward at the hospital the next day after listening to her scream all night? Tired yes, awkward no"

"Oh" said Lexie still clearly uncomfortable, "umm I guess"

A long muffled male groan filled the room

"Him on the other hand, not so comfortable seeing the next day" Izzie added

Lexie looked at Izzy in confusion, the turned a bright shade of scarlet as she realised "Oh My Flipping God, That's Dr Shephered!" she exclaimed.

"Flipping" Izzie mocked

"She's the sweet Grey" Alex shrugged

"I'm not that sweet" Lexie interjected

"No clearly not" Izzie said looking between the two of them suggestively

"Oh, um, no, we, well, just sleeping, no we didn't not that.." Lexie trailed off.

Izzie looked at Alex questioningly, he just shrugged and re-emphasised "The sweet one"

Upstairs a door slammed, and the sound of running feet could be heard. The occupants of the kitchen stood still. The small footsteps barrelled down the stairs and the kitchen door flung open.

Meredith ran in to the kitchen wearing Derek's button shirt down her skin flushed and her hair mussed.

"Oh, Izzy, Hi" she exclaimed, as she pulled out a drawer in the butchers block rummaging through it.

'Hi"

"Baking?" as she opened another drawer

"Can't sleep. What are you looking for?" she asked

"Plastic bowl. Why can't you sleep?"

"Bottom left drawer. Seriously?" Izzie replied and asked

Meredith flung out the nominated drawer and pulled out a white plastic bowl.

"Thanks" she said to Izzie as she turned to the Fridge "Arggh" she screamed as she saw Alex and Lexie for the first time "Seriously?" she yelled

"Nice lungs" Alex said ogling the shirt held together by a few buttons

"Uggh" Meredith grunted clutching the bowl to her chest.

"Oh yeah those too" he smirked "but I meant the screaming"

Meredith turned an attractive shade of beetroot as she looked backwards and forwards between the other three occupants of the kitchen. "There's no screaming" she tried.

Alex and Izzie burst into laughter, Lexie tried to stifle a giggle and settled on staring at her toes after being glared at by her half-sister. "Not now" Izzie agreed "But you're here, and Derek's there" she nodded towards the ceiling.

At the mention of the man she had left in her room Meredith shook her head at the others "Whatever" she muttered as she moved to the fridge. She opened the freezer door and emptied the trays of ice cubes into her bowl. She then turned looked at the other three watching her expectantly, looked down at her ice, then up at the ceiling as if weighing up her options. She then shrugged threw a "Goodnight" at all three as she ran out of the kitchen and back up the stairs.

"Was the ice for during or after?" Lexie asked finally breaking the stunned silence.


	2. Time to hunt

**Disclaimer – Don't own Greys**

**AN – Can't normally write AU.. don't know why, just can't. And obviously fluffy merder is AU at the moment.. but I like reading fluffy at the moment, so here goes nothing. **

**"Signs" carries on after "Postcards from the anti-honeymoon" which isn't mandatory reading. But the "signs" references may be a little odd otherwise.**

Derek stood at the nurses station filling in a patient's chart. He was aware of the giggling from the gathering of nurses, but it didn't really register on his radar until a slim hand pushed a wax paper cup in front of him.

"For you, Dr Shepherd" the slightly bug eyed brunette nurse giggled.

He looked down at the cup filled with ice and back up at the nurse smirking idiotically at her own joke.

"Do I know you?" he asked somewhat aggressively.

"Ah, no, well, no, I mean, I've scrubbed in on 36 of your surgeries, but know, well, no I don't think you know me" the nurse stammered looking behind her for moral support from her nurse comrades only to find them beating a hasty retreat.

"So, we are work colleagues, nothing more, nothing less?" he asked, his tone blunt and commanding

"Umm, yeah I guess" she said, bugging her eyes wider and smiling widely in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

Her glary toothy smile nearly threw Derek from his course, but he maintained his attack.

"So neither of us really have a right to make personal comments or innuendo towards each other, right?" he pressed

"Right, sorry Dr Shepherd" she offered meekly.

"Good, glad that's established" he replied, snapping the chart closed and placing it on the desk.

He turned to walk away from the nurses station, propped and turned on his heel "then I don't have any obligation to tell you about the awful black gunk you have on your teeth do I?" he threw in as a parting gesture, as he turned again and walked off.

He felt a solid body fall in step with him as he strode to the elevator.

"Well, well, Dr Shepherd taunting nurses, who would have thought" Mark drawled.

Derek grimaced, slight guilt starting to form. "It was funny the first 6 or so times, the jokes worn thin" he said.

"Still, not like you to come down on the nurses" Mark answered

"Not the nurses, that nurse, she creeps me out"

"Which nurse" Mark asked turning to look at the huddle that had formed after Derek's departure.

"I don't know her name, but she stares at me in surgery and stands around sucking on candy crap like a 5 year old all the time, creepy" Derek shivered

"Ok, so creepy nurse offered you ice, why would that bug you?" Mark smirked

Derek raised his eyebrows at his friend. "Oh like you don't know" he said "I bet you set this off anyway"

Mark paused, "Nah" he finally said, "I'd like to take credit, but it's Yang, she's offering them $5 a pop"

"I should have guessed" Derek said wryly

"Anyway, I would have thought the resumption of the Meredith and Derek love show would have had you in great spirits today" Mark queried.

Derek smiled warmly at his reinstated friend as he thought of the previous evening "I am in good spirits, tired, and sick of the joke, but very very happy otherwise"

Mark raised an eyebrow "Tired? Sore as well?" he asked.

Derek stopped and crossed his arms and stared at his friend "I am not telling you what the ice was for"

"Ahh come on man, there is a $250 kitty riding on it" Mark whined

"Your betting on my love life?" Derek exclaimed.

"No, god, I'm not that insensitive"

"Good"

" I'm betting on your sex life" Mark continued.

Derek huffed and turned to walk off again. Mark hurried to catch up to him.

"Come on man, have a sense of humour"

"I have a sense of humour, I just don't find having ten cups of ice offered to me and a book running on my sex life humorous" Derek moaned running his hands through his hair.

"Well, that's what you get when your girlfriend lives in a hostel" Mark offered.

Derek stopped tugging at his hair, clicked his fingers at Mark "that's it" he said, purposefully striding to the elevator.

"You've lost me?" Mark asked

"A sign, a sign to enact a sign"

"Not helping with clarity here" Mark complained

Derek shrugged as he walked backwards into the open elevator. "Simple, I'm off to find Meredith, it's time to start apartment hunting"


End file.
